True Eternity
by luckyrules321
Summary: The Regeneration crew meet again, 6 months after they split, for a reunion. But a strange traveler appears during their party... One who claims to be Yuan's apprentice, and one who has an extraordinary gift... Basically a retelling of Kratos's life, with the Regeneration crew listening in... Kratos X Anna, Yuan X Martel, and a heck of a lot more pairings...
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! My second fanfic :) I originally thought up this one a while back, and even uploaded this chapter, but then took it down because the story seemed so daunting :x Basically the story of Kratos' life, from childhood, to meeting Anna, to the present, all told so that the Regeneration group can listen in... God, this story's gonna be long... :x But stick with me! I promise it'll be amazing... :D**

Lloyd was excited. Extremely excited. So excited that even the prospect of cleaning an entire house nearly all by himself didn't seem so mind-bogglingly boring. It had been exactly six months since the end of his well-renouned World Regeneration journey, and six months was the perfect time for a party. A reunion party, more specifically. Lloyd didn't clean for just any old party.

He had returned from his mission to destroy all expheres about a week ago, exhausted and eager for the aniticipated date of the Regeneration group's re-unition. He intended to take cleaning the small cabin slowly. A little bit each day, then it wouldn't seem so bad overall.

Yeah, right.

That idea coming from the same kid who couldn't finish a single assignment that Professor Raine gave to him back in the days where he went to school. Him cleaning the house that easily was just about as likely to happen as him collecting all of the expheres within the year.

Which, as it happened, was turning out more difficult than it sounded. Collecting exspheres, that is. It seemed that finding exspheres could be grouped in two ways: either everywhere you turned you found hundreds of them and had days worth of collecting to do in one small area, or they were all hidden and spread apart so that finding them all was akin to finding a needle in a thousand haystacks. It drove Lloyd crazy. He slowly grew more and more tired of finding exsphere after exsphere, until he was on the verge of madness, and then Colette saved him with her ever-loving patience, and soon he was calm enough to go back looking for exspheres again. Thank the Goddess Colette came with him... Collecting exspheres was a never ending circle of slaving that Lloyd came to hate.

However, though he hated the manual labor of collecting the innocent-looking-yet-deadly stones, he never grew tired of his cause. To rid the world of those spheres (or, as Lloyd secretly called them, the "rocks from hell") was as good a cause as any Lloyd could imagine. In some far off, secret part of his brain, it made him happy.

The same part of the brain that thinks, "Well, at least it's a great view" when you get shoved off an extremely high cliff.

Lloyd looked forward to the six-month mark in which he and his friends could meet again shamelessly. Not just for the vacation, but also for seeing his friends again. It wasn't that traveling alone with Colette was bad. In fact, he sometimes adored those peaceful days in which Colette and he looked for exspheres in a laid back, serene manner; the days that were full of talking, talking about everything in the world or nothing at all. Colette had always made him happy.

Yet he missed his friends: Raine with her unusual love of ancient artifacts, Genis with his dry sarcasm, Presea with her cool, collected manner, Zelos with his perverted gaudiness, Sheena with her hatred of Zelos' perverted gaudiness, and Regal with... his... Regalness... Anyway, Lloyd missed them. And this party would be one to remember.

So, with the air of getting something done (and quickly), Lloyd had returned to Dirk's house with plenty of time to spare (and much hugging and storytelling to his old Dad). And, instead of pacing himself like a good little boy, he set to work a week later with one day left to prepare and a huge, nagging sense of irresponsibility.

He decided to start with scrubbing the filthy floors of his dwarf Dad's kitchen, trying to conserve whatever pride he had left while wearing a flowery apron that he'd found buried in the back of a cuboard somewhere. Damn, this was horrible. Leave it to him to start cleaning the entire house half a day before people would start to arrive. And the apron definitely wasn't helping. Wait a sec... Why the heck did Dirk own a feminine apron in the first place? Weird... Ok, he was already losing focus. Just keep scrubbing, he told himself with a wince, Just keep scrubbing...

"Lloyd! I'm back!" called Colette from the front door. In a cabin as small as Dirk's, it wasn't really necessary to shout, but Colette liked to be safe rather than sorry. She was carrying three or four good-sized bags of decorations and food, varying from things as stout as dictionary-thick cookbooks to things as fragile as eggs.

"Uh, need some help with that?" said Lloyd cautiously, getting off of his knees to try and grab a bag.

"No, no, I'm fine!" insisted Colette, her face pink with determination, "I'll just put these on the counter..."

"Are you sure?"

Too late. Maybe Lloyd should have washed the floors _after_ the groceries came. Colette slipped, scattering foods and supplies everywhere with a huge, painful-sounding clatter. Sure, Colette was fine, but Lloyd was pretty sure he heard a crunch that sounded horribly like the sound of a cookbook landing on a dozen or so eggs.

He sighed sadly, thinking that next time he should start the preparation earlier. He sighed again, even harder when he realized he probably wouldn't.

"Ah, Lloyd, I'm so sorry! I tripped again!" cried Colette, distressed, "Here, let me clean all this up..."

"Colette, it's fine!" chuckled Lloyd. That was his Colette. "I was just starting to clean, anyway."

"My bad, my bad! I'm sorry, I'm such a..." Colette paused, her blue eyes staring at Lloyd.

Lloyd blinked. "What?"

"Lloyd, what are you wearing?"

Lloyd looked down, and turned bright red. The girly, flower-coated apron was still wrapped around his middle. Crap.

"Forget about it," groaned Lloyd. Colette tried hard to stifle her giggles, hiding her face by bending down and cleaning up some more. Lloyd tried to recover the remains of his dignity.

It was now about three o'clock, he realized with a jolt, and he _still_ had yet to finish a chore. Damn. Well, until the supplies were cleaned off the floor he couldn't continue the scrubbing. He might as well get started on something out. What else?

He could do the laundry. The bathrooms. The closets. The bedrooms. The leaks in the ceilings. The overgrown garden. The filing in the office. Noishe's crate... Goddess, he was screwed. Could it get much worse?

Asking that was Lloyd's worst mistake yet.

"_Hellooooooo_, my hunnies!" came the call from outside.

Dear God.

The red-haired devil had arrived early.

"Shut it, pervert!" said a pissed off, feminine voice, "We were 'sposed to surprise them, remember?"

And he'd brought Sheena with him. Lovely.

Colette jumped to her feet eagerly, delight shining on her face. Lloyd couldn't help but smile through his panic. She was so cute when she was happy.

Running out the door, she called, "Sheena! Zelos! You've come!" and dove at her two friends. Lloyd followed her excitedly, all cleaning forgotten. He was thrilled to see his buddies grinning slyly at him from the walkway outside, Sheena clutching Colette, and Zelos wishing he were in Sheena's place. Or, in Colette's, if he though about it; he wasn't picky.

"Yo!" laughed Lloyd happily, smiling cheesily at his teammates.

"Yo," they both replied in unison, mirroring his grin back at him.

"Wow! Wow! We weren't expecting you until tomorrow!" Colette bubbled, her pretty blue eyes shining.

"Well, my darling angel, destiny couldn't keep us apart any longer," Zelos flashed his dazzling teeth at her in his usual perverted style, "Love prevails once more!"

"What he means to say," Sheena groaned, rolling her eyes, "is that we missed you far too much! So we thought, what's an extra day to comrads? Nothing. Plus, we looked forward to Colette's famous vanilla cake."

"You mean, _angel_ cake," joked Zelos, "Ha ha! Get it?"

No-one laughed.

"Well, a day isn't too bad, but don't expect the house to be tidy," warned Lloyd, trying hard to ignore the sulking Zelos. He though about it.

"In fact... you might be safer sleeping outside for the time being. At least until I clean the rooms..." he paused, staring at his audience.

"Ok, what's the matter with you guys?"

They were all staring back at him.

"Lloyd," said Sheena dryly, "What are you wearing?"

Thus, the reunion began.

A day and a half had passed. It was late, the night was at its fullest. The huge, full moon hung proudly among the sparkling stars with a certain pride only he could have. It was a gorgeous summer twilight, one in a million. What made that summer evening even more special, or rather, odd, was the mysterious figure that stood on a hilltop, dramatically silhouetted by the giant, yellow orb.

It was the figure of a grown man, a traveler- and an experienced one at that. He seemed middle-aged, or at least in his late teens. He was staring at the heavens above, seemingly lost in the serenity of the vast night sky. Suddenly, a large noise brought him "back down to earth," so to speak.

CRASH!

The sound came from far off, to the valley below him, where a small cabin squatted snugly between the hillside and a dim forest. It's two, lit-up windows gleamed like eyes in the night from where the man was standing. It appeared some kind of gathering was going on within its cozy door.

"Genis! Watch where your going when you're carrying plates!" cried the distressed voice of a woman, faintly muffled by the thick, wooden walls of the lodge. Her words carried fairly far into the previously silent night. Stifled roars of laughter followed this "mysterious" woman's protest. Some birds scattered out of nearby treetops.

The man blinked, now certain it was a party of some sort.

"So this is the famed Dirk's cabin," murmured the figure curiously, "I have arrived, indeed I have..."

He took a step forward, and the angle of the moon on his body instantly shifted. Instead of being a silhouette, his body now gleamed as clearly into the night as if he had stepped into a spotlight. He had lightweight, fit figure- the body of one who has traveled a long way and taken the best out of it instead of the worst. He was wearing a light, cream-colored tunic along with gray breeches and high boots. A blue and green cape was draped in an unusual across his shoulders, concealing his weapons as well as his hands. Pointed ears revealed elf heritage complimented a pure, handsome face. Yet the strangest features on this man by far was his hair. It, done in a simple, ragged cut, was green. Yes, green. It matched his eyes perfectly, as it was. The man shook his shaggy, grass-colored head, an eager look in his eyes, and began trotting at a light pace down the hill- heading straight for the cozy house that seemed to be called "Dirk's cabin".

It looked as though that was this traveler's destination on that quiet, brilliant night.

The moon seemed to smile.

The reunion party was getting on, and it way surpassed a night to remember. In fact, it was the most fun Lloyd had had in a long time.

The entire gang was here, and the house was gleaming- not only from intense cleaning (it turned out Sheena had some helpful, hidden Mizuho techniques), but also from the cheerful gathering of the reminicing friends that were joking around inside of it. Dirk had left earlier after seeing everyone, deciding wisely to sleep at an inn instead of the noisy house.

They had just finished a fantastic feast of tasty delights, all prepared by Genis, Regal, and Colette (Raine gratefully stayed out of it). The dinner had started around four, yet had lasted them late into the night. Well, that was to be expected. After all, every person at that table had an exciting tale to be told. After the stories finished, they elapsed into a brief, odd silence, mostly due to the fact that the stories weren't all happy- most were rather serious. It was a grim moment. That is, until Genis tripped over a sleeping Noishe and crashed half a dozen china plates to the floor. Raine absolutely flipped, to everyone's pleasure.

Afterward, all seriousness was gratefully abandoned. They had missed each other's company, and they weren't going to hold back- they had the most fun that a group of five teens, two adults, and one dog could possibly have.

The girls had instantly crowded in the kitchen area, chatting their hearts out while the four guys teased Noishe. Actually, three guys teased Noishe. Regal wasn't much of a "teaser."

Slowly, however- and Lloyd only had a vague idea of how it started- the party evolved to Regal beating Zelos up in a match where the only rules were to stay in the living room, and to not use your hands. Apparently, Zelos was trying to explain to the other three males why a sword was the best, and most efficient, weapon in a fight. And Regal had said, "Prove it." After that, the discussion slowly turned into an argument, and, much to everyone else's entertainment, Zelos stupidly stated that he could beat Regal "with his hands tied behind his back."

Not such a smart idea if the match was based on those rules, Zelos found out later.

Zelos, whose hands were tied with a thick rope, was running around the room in wild circles, desperately dodging Regal's painful kicks, when the traveler arrived.

It was Colette who had heard him knock on the door first, or rather, Colette was the only one able to hear him knock on the door. The rest of the team was avid with shouts and cheers, and roars of laughter every time Zelos actually tried to invent a move that used only his feet. And fell down because of horribly balance. Colette, however, was relaxing on the greeting mat/rug before the entrance, lazily scratching a pleased Noishe. She giggled, cheered, and rooted along with the rest. However, when a firm rapping came at the door, she was the only one who jumped at the noise. _Now who could that be?_ wondered Colette, nervously. After all, their group was, by far, not the most loved in the world.

"Um, guys?" said Colette tentatively, "Guys, I think someone's..."

It was no use. Man, who knew such a stupid fight could be so intense? She cleared her throat, hoping her voice would sound mightier as a result.

"Hey, Lloyd-"

_Rap. Rap. Rap._

The knocking interrupted her voice. Colette sighed in a momentary unsureness. What if it was an enemy, come to steal her and her friends?

Then it struck her that though the room was filled with some of the most hated people, it was also filled with the strongest.

_**Rap. Rap. Rap. **_This time the knocks were louder-more impatient.

Screw it.

Colette slowly opened the door, peeking out of it uneasily.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hello, young lady," greeted a kindly, elf face, with- green hair. Wow. That was a first, green hair. "Mind letting a weary traveler in for a moment?"

Colette sighed with relief. This man was no monster, she was sure (A/N: Wow- Colette is really judgemental :P). Regaining her manners, she smiled sweetly in return and flung the door wide open, happy to let the elf in.

"Please, come in and rest!" she said hospitably. He stepped in.

Thus, the first sight the green-haired traveler ever had of the famed World Regeneration group was a man with blue hair kicking the ass, most literally, of another, more pitiful-looking hand-tied man, with everyone else egging him on.

Interesting.

Lloyd, sensing a new presence, turned, and instantly froze into fighting position. _A foriegn person was in his house_. Why _was a foriegn person in his house?_ The roudy group, sensing Lloyd's tension, turned and froze, just as Lloyd had, at the sight of the unknown man. The entire building, within seconds, had gone from an easygoing, happy state to an instant, poised-to-strike-and-kill mode. Zelos tried valiantly to freeze, but intead lost his balance and fell with an audible_ thump. _The man himself, seeing what was happening, instantly reached for a mysterious object hidden by his cloak. A mysterious, weapon-like object, no doubt. The smile had gone from his perfect face.

"Ah," said Colette, glancing between the man, the group, and the open door nervously. Seeing the man's danger, she slid between him and the group protectively.

"Please don't strike!" she begged, "I let him in! He's just a traveler, wanting a place to stay!"

_He's no traveler,_ said Lloyd, noting his unusual clothing and the smoothness in which he got ready to fight. Yet Lloyd still eased up.

Recognizing this, the elf seized his chance. "I'm sorry," he said in a loud and clear voice, bowing low as was custom, and putting his empty (yet gloved) hands where the red-clad boy could see them. "I just wished for a place to stay, that's all."

Lloyd blinked, not buying it. This man wanted more than just a place to stay, he could tell by the excited glint of his emerald eyes. Plus, Iseilia was just minutes away and far more hospitable than they were.

"What's your name?" he said in his blunt way.

"Ransom. Ransom Poteman." The green-haired man hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should continue.

"And student... Student of Yuan, leader of the Renagades."

**Yeah, one chapter down... like... a million to go? Yeah... This is probably not too encouraging for you readers lol :P But I assure you this story will be a good one, if you like... well... any character in the Symphonia series. They're pretty much all personally involved at one point or another in this fic... But anyways, I know a lot of elves have green hair. Lets just say Ransom's hair is... uhhh... super green... yeeeaaahhh... lol Ok I will update soon! Stick with me!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Decided to upload 2 chapters in one day, just to keep you going! This one's shorter, but ah well, I hope you enjoy it all the same :)**

"You're joking, right?"

Lloyd broke the silence that had filled the cabin, raising one eyebrow in disbelief.

"Why would Yuan have a student?" questioned Sheena.

"More importantly, why is a student of Yuan here?" Regal asked, slowly kneeling down to untie Zelos, who was trying his best to look tough after the ass-kicking he had just received. He wasn't very successful.

Everyone's eyes narrowed at the point Regal had made. If any acquaintance of Yuan had sought them out, the reason could not be good.

Noticing the tension in the room, the stranger waved his gloved hands in front of him, a gesture of peace. "I am not here on any business for Yuan-sensei," he insisted, "I am simply here to… well… to inform you."

"Yuan-sensei. That's a new one," muttered Genis.

"Inform us of what?" Lloyd asked.

Ransom opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, being at a loss for words. He ran a hand through his ruffled green hair, as if deciding how to start, then said, "To say it is a long story would be a major understatement…"

Everyone continued to stare at the mysterious man, waiting for an explanation that seemed to not be coming. Eventually, Raine gave in and spoke.

"Well, if you came here to give us a message, and it's too long for you to give, I see a gaping hole in your plan. Who are you exactly?"

"I told you. I'm Yuan's apprentice."

"Aha!" cried Zelos, jabbing a newly-freed finger at the traveler, "You said you were just his student! Now you're his _apprentice_? Which one is it?"

"Is there a difference?" asked Genis, sweat-dropping.

"Yes, there is," snapped the red-haired devil at the boy, "A student is merely there to learn. An apprentice, however, takes the place of his teacher when they become too old to work."

"… Which would be an evident problem for Yuan, why?" sighed Raine, "Yuan doesn't get old."

"Yes, but that does not mean my teacher is immortal," pointed out Ransom.

"So you're his heir," stated Regal.

"Ah, well, yes, I suppose. I guess that would make me his heir."

"Which leads us back to the question, who are you? And why does Yuan trust you so much, as to entrust you with his entire life's work?" said Raine.

"Which leads us back to the reason I came," said Ransom, raising a pointed finger knowledgably. "I came to inform you. Or explain to you. One and the same, really."

"Which leads us back to the problem that you won't explain the story to us," drawled Lloyd pointedly, "I see an endless circle of getting nowhere ahead of us."

Ransom sighed, and looked around at the odd group. "It's not…" he began, then paused, then started again, "It's not as though I won't tell you the story, as long as you want to hear it. It's just a matter of knowing where to begin. I suppose… I suppose I should begin by asking this."

He looked up, straight at Lloyd. Lloyd shuddered. It was as if those green irises had pierced his soul, as if they held an ancient wisdom that he, himself, could not even begin to understand.

"Lloyd Irving, how much do you know about your father?"

The group turned and stared at Lloyd, who gaped back at Ransom as if he had grown another head.

"How much do _I_ know about my father? How about, how much do _you _know about my father? What has Yuan ratted out to you about my personal life?"

Ransom blinked, then began to laugh, which only seemed to infuriate Lloyd more, understandably. He soon slowed and stopped, though, when he saw the looks on the others' faces. It became very clear to him that Yuan wasn't exactly the most trustable person to them.

"Ah, no, I didn't hear anything of that sort from Yuan. If anything, Master Aurion told me himself- in a matter of speaking."

"Kratos told _you_ about his life?" said Lloyd in disbelief. Kratos had never told him anything about his past, including the fact that he happened to be Lloyd's father. And Lloyd was his son.

"In a manner of speaking," Ransom said simply.

There was an awed silence. Who was this man? He certainly wasn't the average traveler. But to be Yuan's apprentice? And such a valued acquaintance to Kratos? And Goddess knows what else? It seemed as though they had just scratched the surface of the seraphim's lives, even after saving the worlds with them. It shocked everyone into a daze.

Ransom seemed to take pity on their confusion. "Maybe I should demonstrate how I learned so much."

"Demonstrate?" said Regal suspiciously, not liking the sound of it.

Ransom nodded. "Lloyd, could you please hold out your hand to me?" he said, and he pulled off one of his white satin gloves delicately.

"Hell no," said Lloyd, taking an alarmed step backward, "Why should I?"

Ransom sighed. "I'm not going to hurt you," he explained gently, "Just to show you why I know about Kratos. And why Yuan values me so much. I just want to demonstrate."

"Demonstrate what?" Lloyd cried.

"This won't hurt a bit," insisted Ransom, and before Lloyd (or anyone else, for that matter) could react, Ransom had darted his ungloved hand out and grasped Lloyd's- skin to skin.

Lloyd yelped and snatched his hand out the moment he realized what had happened, pulling it far away from the green-haired stranger.

"What- what the HELL did you do _that_ for?" yelled Lloyd, completely baffled.

"Don't be alarmed Lloyd…" said Zelos, "…but I think he _may_ have a crush on you."

Everyone turned to glare at Zelos- everyone but Raine, who was by now entirely immune to Zelos's comments. Her eyes stayed fixed on Ransom, whom she noticed looked odd. The man's eyes had glazed over, and he seemed to be in a stupor.

"Could it be?..." Raine murmured in sudden realization. But as quickly as she said it, Ransom had snapped out of his state and had returned to normal.

"Excellent," he said.

Everyone turned back to look at the student.

"Excellent what?" asked Genis.

"Excellent, as in, it has worked. I have made Contact with you, Lloyd Irving."

"Contact?" said Lloyd in a shaky voice. He was beginning to fear that Zelos may have been right.

Ransom nodded. "Ask me a question," he said simply, "One you know the answer to."

Everyone in the room blinked, nearly simultaneously.

"What about?" said Lloyd slowly, curiously.

"Think of the hardest question you can imagine. One only you know the answer to, perhaps. A fact. A memory. Anything."

Lloyd's jaw dropped. "Oh, no you didn't," he gaped.

A tiny smile formed on Ransom's lips, "Ask," he repeated encouragingly.

Lloyd closed his mouth tightly, wishing this not to be true.

"What…" he said, "What was the name of my schoolteacher as a kid?"

"Now, that was too easy," said Ransom, wrinkling his nose, "Everyone in the room knows it was Miss Raine over there. And I'm pretty sure she could still teach you a hell of a lot, if you don't mind me saying. Ask another."

Lloyd ground his teeth in frustration, then said, "What day is my birthday?"

"Now, that is a good one," smiled Ransom, "You don't actually know the exact day, since you never grew up with your true mother and father. You have always celebrated it on July 27th, though. And…" Ransom faltered, unsure if he should continue.

Lloyd stared in shock, then shook his head, almost afraid to ask, "And what?"

"… And, the truth is, your birthday was August 2nd. A rainy night. Odd for August, but that's beside the point."

Everyone in the room was beyond astonished. The room was dead quiet, besides the snuffling of Noishe laying calmly next to Colette.

"One more," Ransom murmured, eyes scanning the stunned group.

Lloyd swallowed, then walked up to Ransom until his face was mere centimeters away, unblinking brown eyes staring into unblinking green. He whispered, so quietly that he was sure no one else in the room could hear.

"What was the name of my mother?"

Ransom paused, startled at the question, but then resigned to leaning forward, and cupping his hand next to Lloyd's ear.

"Anna Irving," he whispered, "She was a fine woman… And I owe my life to her.

"Let me stay, and I will tell you how that came to be."

**... It is now way past my bedtime. Thank you, ... lol But it will get better! Sorry for the cliffhangers. I'm dreadful with those... I just can't seem to find another decent ending spot... :x Ah well! All reviews are appreciated! I will try to update ASAP!**


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